FG to privatise power plants –Jonathan

From DENNIS MERNYI and EMMANUEL ADEYEMI, Lokoja
President Goodluck Jonathan has said the Federal Government will sell all of Nigeria’s Independent Power Projects (NIPPs) being executed by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) to private investors for effective management as part of its resolve to power sector reform.
Jonathan said government could not continue to run the plants after they are completed since the private sector is encouraged to operate them for effective management and maintenance.
The president, who stated this at Geregu, Ajaokuta in Kogi State on Thursday while commissioning the 434MW Geregu11 power plant said government places high value on the resuscitation of the moribund NIPP projects that were abandoned as a result of cash crunch.
“The new set of the NIPP plants to be completed between now and next quarter of 2014 will be privatised. Government cannot continue to run them,” he stated.
He explained that his administration’s commitment to develop the sector took up the responsibility to pool resources from the excess crude account after convincing state governors of the need to complete those projects, after which the NDPHC was established as the secretariat of the NIPP.
Jonathan who lamented the initial challenges faced by the NIPP projects from inception ranging from gas transportation to the turbines and acquisition of lands for the projects location, however, commended the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Petroleum Resources Ministry for providing emergency gas supply.
In a speech, Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, commended the contribution of the NIPP for the role played in power generation through its energy mix that has yielded over 800 megawatts electricity generation for both the Geregu 1 and 2 plants.
“Power generation has improved with the coming on board of NIPP projects. They have played great role in the power generation mix with over 1,600 megawatts on regular basis.
According to the Managing Director, NDPHC, Mr. James Olotu, the National Economic Council  (NEC) approved the funding of the NIPP projects from the Excess Crude Oil Account, which belongs to the federation jointly and setting up of the NDPHC as a special purpose vehicle for managing the investment in the projects, on behalf of the federal states and local governments, in line with best-practice private sector corporate governance.





He said the shareholders of NDPHC are therefore the federal and all the 36 state governments (who also represent the interest of the local governments).
Olotu noted that the generation component of NIPP was conceived as a complete gas-to-power package that will harness the underutilised natural gas reserves in the Niger Delta region to produce the much-needed electricity for the nation’s economic growth.
He explained that the generation projects’ portfolio of NIPP is made up of 10 power stations (approximately rated capacities at ISO conditions): Calabar (630mw), Egbema (378mw), Ihovbor (504mw), Gbarian (252mw), Sapele (504mw), Omokunu (252mw), Laoji (1076mw), Olorunsogo  (750mw), Omotosho (500mw) and Geregu (495mw).
The NDPHC boss said the projects are also accompanied with gas pipeline constructions from ELP system and the gas fields at Adanga offshore, Egbema, Izonbe, Gbarian-Ubie, Oredo, Oben to the power plant including the required gas pressure reduction and metering stations (GPRMS).